© Copyright Clive Young
From Gig Magazine, September, 2001.BANDS ON THE RUN: Hard Work And Promotion Are Key--Even When You're On TV
By Clive Young
Usually the only way an unsigned band gets on TV is via something like Star Search or by being background 'extras' (or they're the Monkees). VH-1 changed that rule this past spring however, with the debut of Bands On The Run, a weekly Reality TV series that's basically Survivor on tour (and we're not talking "Eye of the Tiger" here).
Each hour-long episode worked the same: Four bands--Harlow (Los Angeles), Flickerstick (Dallas), Soulcracker (San Diego) and The Josh Dodes Band (New York)--drove to a new city where a gig had been booked for them by VH-1. They had two or three days to promote the show and sell merchandise along the way, and they were allowed to book extra gigs if they wanted. After every act played its booked gig, VH-1 announced who made the most from ticket sales and merchandise, and sent them off to the next city. Periodically the group with the lowest sales was dropped, and eventually the winning band got $100,000 worth of gear from Guitar Center, $50,000 cash and an industry showcase.
"It was as effective for bands to go out and get drunk with people as it was to go out flyering and all that. In the real world, it doesn't quite work that way." To the rest of America, it was another Reality TV show, spiced up with booze, babes and bands. For musicians, it was like a weekly instructional series on how to promote your band when you have no money and no time.
Even though the winner, Flickerstick, was announced in mid-July, GIG talked to all four acts to learn about guerilla promotion, life under the camera lens, and how their careers have changed.
A FLYER DOESN'T MEAN $#@*!
Each band had its own style of self-promotion before appearing on the show, and more often than not, Bands On The Run served to crystallize those methods. Case in point: Soulcracker, a punk rock quintet that hustled the most of all four acts. When they weren't playing endless shows in coffeehouses and street corners to promote their VH-1 gigs, they were hitting up every cute girl to buy a CD or Soulcracker thong."Handing somebody a flyer doesn't mean shit," says Beastie Ulery, singer for Soulcracker. "Playing as much as possible has always been our way of promoting. Sometimes that kills you--I think in '98, we played 264 shows as an indie band with no tour support, no nothing." That's always been the band's way, though; according to Ulery, Soulcracker had three gigs booked the first week it existed, before they'd even held a rehearsal.
While Soulcracker cranked out the concerts, gloom rockers Harlow usually tried to get on radio stations' morning shows to promote their concerts. In the real world, though, most bands don't have a VH-1 camera crew following them to appeal to publicity-hungry DJs--and it didn't always work for Harlow anyway; in those cases, the group had to do groundwork.
"We would find that one key person who knew everybody and knew all the cool clubs to go to," says singer/guitarist Amanda Rootes. "We'd usually call up our promoter, and ask them to either take us out to a few clubs to go promote or hook us up with somebody who was really hooked into the scene... We just make friends with people and beg them to come support us; we don't really do the hard sell. It's like, 'We're playing on Wednesday. It'll be fun, come hang out.'"
Picture Ben Folds jamming with George Clinton, and you'll have a good idea what the Josh Dodes Band sounds like. Although the JDB was the first group to go home, the band's short time on the show was a test all the same, says Dodes. With so little time to promote shows, he says, "it was as effective for bands to go out and get drunk with people as it was to go out flyering and all that. In the real world, it doesn't quite work that way."
As for bands that went out and got drunk, well, that was alterna-rockers Flickerstick, who were perennially in last place throughout the show, despite winning various Battles of the Bands that exempted them from being sent home. Not only did Flickerstick rarely promote their shows, they didn't care much about selling CDs either.
"Selling merchandise is great and every band should try to do that, but when it becomes the end all, be all of what is important to your band's success, you lose," says Brandin Lea, Flickerstick's vocalist/guitarist. "When somebody hears us play live and they want to buy the CD, that's cool...but I have no desire to walk around with panties on my head, waving our CD in the air to people who have no clue who we are."
WE'RE ALL ABOUT GETTING ARRESTED
Sporting underwear as a chapeau was a last-ditch effort that the JDB used to sell CDs, but it wasn't the only wild scheme they tried. Take the time they played on a truck at midnight in one city's nightclub area; when the cops came, they claimed they had permission and sent one backup singer to "find" the non-existent guy with the permit. By the time she came back empty-handed, the band had managed to squeeze out two more songs."We're all about getting arrested absolutely as much as possible!" laughs Dodes. "That's our new credo!" [Ed. Note: The band was NOT arrested.] While that's a guerilla tactic that the JDB doesn't plan to repeat, the show still served as a catalyst of sorts for the group.
"It's a slight, subtle change in attitude," says Dodes. "We're really taking the opportunity to talk to people, even when we're doing things as mundane as buying gas. I think we're a little more likely now to strike up conversations and hand a flyer to them, or even try to sell a CD at a rest stop. These are techniques that sometimes do work.... The only real reason that money matters is that it's what allows you to keep playing. Otherwise, you're not selling at a gas station; you're pumping at one."
OUR BAND WANTED TO WIN
On one level, every band won, because they got national exposure on VH-1. On the other hand, every band lost because (you guessed it) they got national exposure on VH-1. Soulcracker, punks though they might be, made no bones about going for the gold. "Our band wanted to win," says Ulery, unapologetically. "To put some money in our pockets and to have a bunch of free gear? That sounded pretty good to us. And that was our only agenda. We weren't trying to look cool or maybe get a book deal."The drawback is that some viewers got tired of Soulcracker always taking first place. "I've taken a lot of heat as an individual as a result of the show, like death threats," says Ulery, referring to fan messages on VH-1's website. Flickerstick's Lea takes that one step further, claiming, "I know that Beastie's had a lot of problems with people actually physically trying to assault him and stuff.... They won't tell anybody that, because they don't want anybody to know it, but we know it. We heard all about it."
The irony, as Lea notes, is that having his band's laziness broadcast over the airwaves has won new fans: "In retrospect, it's helped us; it hasn't hurt us one bit." And that's true for all of the bands. Harlow's Rootes points out, "The things that they were giving as prizes, like A&R showcases, to me, you're getting that every week when you're on VH-1, know what I mean? ...If you don't make it after that, you're probably not meant to."
MAKING IT
So far, they're all making the most of the show. Flickerstick's been touring to strong crowds. A recent gig at Brownie's in New York City sold out two weeks in advance--even thought it was at 8PM on a Tuesday. The result? An 11PM show got added; it also sold out. "We're doing all these outdoor festivals right now," says Lea, "and then we're also doing a headlining tour of 500 to 1,000 capacity venues coming up in a month."Meanwhile, Harlow's been recording its first album with ex-Foo Fighter Pat Smear producing; the disc should be self-released in late summer, coinciding with a tour. The workaholics in Soulcracker have already been touring a lot, occasionally getting booked on double-bills with The Josh Dodes Band.
As for the JDB, they're not complaining, even if they were the first act to be sent home. "We're playing mostly for guarantees at this point," Dodes reports. "Our booking agent usually works out some combination guarantee/door deal, which is the way we like it. It's nice to get guarantees, which we can do now in most places, but it's also important for us to show the clubs we're serious about bringing in business for them. By working off the door, we're working more in partnership with them. We work our asses off--we take doing right by them seriously."
With the sudden success that Bands On The Run has brought them, most of the bands say they'd do it again. Dodes offers, "There were a lot of things that weren't positive, but it was definitely the right decision for us in terms of exposure." Despite his troubles, Ulery doesn't think twice: "Everything it has done to this band has been good; I would definitely do it again."
And Harlow? Rootes pauses a moment, lost in thought. Finally, she quietly says, "I wouldn't do it again, but I'm glad we did it. Um...yeah."
SIDEBAR
HOW TO GET ON BANDS ON THE RUN
So you watched all 16 episodes of Bands On The Run and you know that your operatic ukulele duo is just what the show needs for its next season. How do get on the show?We went to the man who created the show, co-executive producer Dan Cutforth, to get the inside scoop on getting the inside track.
At press time, Cutforth sounded mighty certain that BOTR would be back for a second season, though there was no official word yet. Bands that wanted to apply for the second jaunt could get information on where to send a press pack and videotape by going to www.vh1.com and visiting the BOTRarea. Casting for the second season may be over by the time this issue hits print, but fear not--they're already planning season three, so send in a press pack anyway.
Nonetheless, you'll still be one of literally thousands of acts knocking on their door. How do you make yourself stand out? "Be yourselves, is the only thing I ask of anyone," says Cutforth. "What really works for the show are people who are really prepared to be themselves on camera. It's one of those things where you can't really come in and wow us in an audition. You have to be a good band and you'll either be the right personality or you won't. It doesn't mean you're not a great band if you're not right for the show. It's not something you can prepare and work on."
But what drew him to the likes of Harlow and Flickerstick? "All the bands that we found had an immediate certain something about them that drew us to them," he says. "There was a certain kind of charisma, a certain quality that the whole was more than the sum of its parts."
